Fang's Accident
by Zenelia
Summary: Fang has a small incident with the newest creations from the scientists. How will Max react? How does Fang hold up? Why does this sound so much more dramatic than it is? Rated T for safety. Haha, please read&review! *Faxness*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I should be updating Harry's Reaction. I'm really sorry! I also know that I promised an update for like 3 weekends ago. . . but that kind of fell through. See, I had the file on my computer, but then it crashed and the file got lost. Now I'm dealing with writer's block (dreaded WB) trying to get back what I lost. But, I am going to get a little plot bunny out of my head. This might be a multi chapter fic, I'm not sure yet. Reviews will help me decide, and help motivate me once I decide. Here it is!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Maximum Ride. The wonderfully fabulous James Patterson does.**

**CLAIMER: I do however, own the Penk idea (at least I haven't read it anywhere else on this site so I'm claiming it as mine.) and this plot. Don't steal it. I will be mad and will report you. I don't accept plagarism. It's a crime.**

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Maximum Ride was sitting there, beside her best friend/boyfriend. Fang was currently laying on a hospital-type bed in Dr. Valencia Martinez's back room in her Arizona house. He was hooked up to an IV, and a heart monitor. At first he had been hooked up to oxygen, too, but Max had opened her mother's eyes to why that was a bad idea. She had told Dr. Martinez that Fang's lungs (and air sacs) were made to handle enviroments with low oxygen supply, so pumping pure oxygen into his system was just making it harder for him to breathe. It took a minute for Valencia to conceed, but she eventually caved when she realized the truth.

As Max sat there, she recounted what had happened. . .

_They were surrounded. About 50 to 60 Penks had them closed into the clearing they had been hiding out in. Penks were the newest nightmare thought up by the whitecoats. They were essentially shapeshifters. Apparently, they not only could look like normal humans, but they could also morph into any animal they wanted. Most of them prefered the wolf form, but it was still varied._

_Max and Fang had immediately taken the fighting stance that was the norm for them. Nudge lept up with a slight squeak that was almost inaudible; Gazzy and Angel stood back to back looking around. It took Iggy a few seconds longer than everyone else to notice what was going on, but as soon as he did, he pulled out a device from his pocket. _

_Max had the feeling that it was another one of his explosives, but since they were in a slight predicament, she didn't pay any real attention to it._

_The Penks started to attack, and the Flock went into full fight mode. Some serious butt-kicking proceeded, and resulted in one of the Penks (the lead, from what Max could tell. She also deduced that his name was "Clayne.") was circling Fang. The two males were giving each other menacing glares._

_"That chick over there is pretty hot. Do ya think she'd like me?" Clayne chuckled as he tilted his head, indicating that he was speaking about Max._

_"You stay away from her." Fang sneered darkly, his face tilted down so he looked deadly. Max knew that no one in their right mind should cross him when he was in a mood like that._

_"And what will you do if I don't?" Clayne challenged._

_"THIS!" Fang yelled, charging at the snake-morphed Penk. Fang punched Clayne in the mouth, making the Penk's face whip sideways with a crack. _

_Next, Fang (who was not in the mood to be messed with, and had so much adrenaline pumping through his veins, could probably punch through a brick wall) brought his left foot up and kicked Clayne right in the chest. Clayne staggered backwards. Apparently, he wasn't as durable as the Flock were._

_However, Fang wasn't counting on some of the other Penks attacking him while he dueled with the leader. Two other of the creations (one was morphed into a wolf-human, and the other was in a fox-human) came up behind Fang and the wolf-Penk grabbed one of his wings and pulled it. Fang fell back and was pinned to the ground by the Penks. _

_Clayne had recovered from Fang's assault. He strutted over and stood over Fang. He snarled._

_"Well, well, well. You _are _fun to fight. Maybe you'll be a good cook, too."_

_Max stood there watching, absolutely helpless. She had been trapped by the Penks, along with the rest of the Flock. When she tried to struggle her way out, she just got clobbered over her shoulder, resulting in an ominous crack and searing pain. She suspected that her collar bone was fractured or at least dislocated. After that she didn't try to get free. Her shoulder hurt to much, and everytime it was jostled she got a lightning strike of pain shoot from her clavicle to her brain._

_She had been confused when Clayne said "Maybe you'll be a good cook, too." but she soon found out the meaning. _

_The lead Penk (who seemed to favor the Snake-Human form) took a knife from a case that had been in his pocket. The blade was long and glinted in the sunlight. The handle was shorter than the blade, and had intricate patterns carved onto it. It was intimidating just to look at._

_Fang eyed the knife apprehensively and sweat visibly broke out on his brow. _

_"We'll see how well you can make a meal." Clayne chuckled as he talked. He walked forwards, closer and closer to where Fang was still pinned down. _

Max! That mean Penk guy is gonna stab Fang! _Angel's voice appeared in Max's head. She didn't immediately respong to the six--- _I'm seven!_ --- seven year old, but she did take closer notice to the meaning of Clayne's words. He was going to make a meal out of Fang._

And that brought them there. Clayne had stabbed Fang in the side, and Max and Iggy had brought him back to Dr. Martinez's by air. It wasn't easy to carry him, even with their combined strength. Mainly because of his wound. He had to be positioned a certain way.

Once they had come in, Valencia took him to the back room (where she had a whole lab hidden. It was part of a home veternary thing, but for the Flock it doubled as safe medical care) and cleaned him up. She did a X-Ray, and stitched the cut. Fang had gotten lucky, extremely lucky, in the fact that the blade of the knife had missed his major organs in the area. And in the fact that he can have blood given to him by Max, Iggy, and Nudge.

After she worked on Fang and before she let anyone back to see him, she patched everyone else up. It turned out that Max had a broken collar bone, which was fixed by a sling. Her mom set the bone (which had already began to heal, thanks to the Flock's sped up healing.) and then she had to wear the sling for about a week. Then she'd be as good as new. That was pretty much it for the major injuries. None of the others had more than a couple of bad scrapes to worry about.

Max had been so deep in her reverie, that she hadn't noticed at first the knock.

"Max?" Dr. Martinez came in through the sound-proof door. "Are you okay?"

Max looked up at her mom. Max's face was pale and worried, even though she was trying not to show it.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. Fang just doesn't like to be left alone." Max lied. For one, she wasn't fine exactly and for two, Fang liked his alone time just as much as he liked his music.

"Ok, that's great. Now tell me the truth." One thing Max inherited from her biological mother was that no one could fool her. Or her mom. So Valencia instaneously knew that Max was lying.

"I'm worried about him. He's gotten hurt in that side before. Ari, an old Eraser, had scratched him up pretty bad. He had to have surgery. Now he gets stabbed." Max sighed, resting her head on Fang's arm that didn't have any IV's in it. He was in a induced coma, for medical purposes.

"He'll be fine, though, Max. We can wake him up tomorrow, most likely with you guys's regenerative abilities. The stab wasn't that bad. It probably looked worse than it was. He didn't even need any surgery." Valencia reassured her eldest daughter.

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Trust me. I've not only been through veternary school, but also medical school for humans, too."

Max just looked back at Fang and nodded. She couldn't really pinpoint why she was so worried or upset about this. Sure, Fang was now her boyfriend and she realized that she had feelings for him (strong feelings) but she didn't know why this was bothering her so much. Fang was a strong person, and she had confidence that her mom knew what she was doing. But Max couldn't help but worry. She hated it though. She was reacting like. . . well, like a normal teenage girl.

_But I'm not a normal teenage girl._ She thought, her eyes filled with nothing but Fang's sleeping face. He was peaceful, for once. There wasn't really an emotion on his face, but more of a serene look. It was kind of odd to see that look on Fang's face.

Oh, come off it, Max! I can read both of you guy's thoughts. You love each other. Not just like. Angel's thoughts once again bombarded Max's head.

_Angel. Stop invading. Haven't you heard of a little thing called privacy?_ Max couldn't help but be a little snappish.

Actually I have. And I was just sayin'. Cause ya know he's dreamin' of you right now. Angel projected a mental image of her shrugging into Max's brain.

_Yeah, yeah, whatever. _Max imagined herself rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Valencia asked, waving her hand in front of Max's face.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I was just talking with Angel. She's a telepath, you know." Max covered up smoothly. Of course, she had had alot of practice with it.

"Okay." It was a mark of how tolerant Valencia was when she didn't look at Max like she was a total lunatic. "Well, I'm going to go help Iggy with dinner. He's a great cook, but he it still makes me a little nervous with a blind guy in my kitchen. Nothing against Iggy, of course. If you need me, just use that phone over there. As soon as you pick it up, the house phone will ring. I have it set on a special ringer so I'll know it's you." Dr. Martinez got up and pointed to the generic-looking black wall phone as she spoke.

"I will." Max said, turning in her chair towards her mom.

"Kay." And with that, Max was left alone with Fang.

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**Mwuhahahahah! Ok, I have decided that there's going to be another chapter. Maybe just one more, maybe more. Depends on the feedback I get. So motivate me! Review and I'll write! Thankies 3**

**Now, review. It's not that hard to press the green-ish button right below this and write something. I don't care if it's a letter. It's _something_. Thanks!**

**---Zenelia*Sky**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Haha, yep! Another chapter. Anyway, I'm not going to bore (and discourage) you from reading at the beginning. They'll be another AN at the bottom. Here it goes!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Maximum Ride. The wonderfully fabulous James Patterson does.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and some of the random things (like the Penks). Don't steal my ideas. Be original. If I find someone stealing my ideas, I will report them. You've been warned.**

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It was the day after the battle with the Penks. Max had fallen asleep in the chair next to Fang's bed. The only time she had come out of the hospital-type room was when she was making sure the Flock was okay. Nudge and Angel had been in Ella's room, doing what Max called "girly stuff." Gazzy was playing with a train set. Iggy had been making creations in the kitchen (the refridgerator was now full of stuff he had made) and then he "watched" some TV.

Today was the day Fang was supposed to wake up. Valencia had already been in here a few times to check on him and Max. She had taken Fang off the sedative medicine after she saw what was a knife stab yesterday. Now it was just a scab that was already almost healed. She had a hard time fathoming how fast that had happened, but she just shrugged it off, knowing it was the bird-kids' nature.

"Mom?" Max's voice was thick with sleep as she sat up, rubbing the bleary grogginess out of her eyes.

"Hey, honey. How are you feeling? I'm sure it wasn't too horribly comfortable to sleep like that."

Max yawned. Then she managed to get out, "I'm fine. It was more comfortable than sleeping some of the other places we've crashed. How is the Flock?"

"They ate some breakfast Iggy made. Now they're playing outside on Ella's old swingset."

Max nodded. She looked at Fang, who had lost the peaceful look and now was emotionless, and then walked out of the room. Valencia, confused, looked between Fang and the door.

Max reappeared. "I had to go to the bathroom." She said in response to her mom's questioning expression.

Just then, Fang decided to stir. He turned his head and readjusted the rest of his body.

"He should be waking up soon. If you need anything, just use the phone." Valencia left the two teenagers alone, albeit one still in a fitful sleep.

Max got up and stretched. Even though last night wasn't exactly uncomfortable, it wasn't the best nights sleep she's had. She slept with her arms folded on Fang's bed, beside him, and her head propped up on her arms. The rest of her was sitting in the same chair she had been sitting in. So, needless to say, her back was a bit sore.

She turned around to look out the window, rubbing her hurt shoulder. Her mom had said that she could take off the sling now, since she had already healed most of the way, but it was still a bit swollen. The way she slept last night didn't help anything. She was admiring a small blue jay building its nest when she heard something from behind her.

"Max?" Fang's voice was soft. Max whirred around, almost falling over in her haste. Fang's eyes were open about half way and he was taking in his surroundings.

"Hey." Max said, smiling as she walked over to her chair. She took the seat and waited to see what he would do.

"I'm hungry." He said after he cleared his throat and rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes. Now he was able so sort of sit up straighter and function some what like normal.

"Of course you are," Max couldn't help but laugh a bit at that, "You haven't eaten since before the fight."

"Fight?" Fang's brows knitted together as he thought back. His memory came crashing over him like a tidal wave. "Oh, right. The fight." He muttered as he realized what had happened, and why he was in the current circumstance.

"Yeah. How's your side feeling?" Max tried to act casual, but even she could hear the concern in her voice.

"Sore. But not too bad."

"That's good."

Fang tried to get up but as soon as he got his torso vertical, a sharp pain surprised him. He gasped and froze.

"You okay? Maybe you shouldn't sit up." Max said, her hand fluttering over his arm, with every intention of gently pushing him back if he protested.

"Gotta." Fang said, regaining composure. He sat up slower this time, and it didn't hurt as much. He swung one of his legs over the bed when he realized his other arm had something attached to it.

"Why do you 'gotta'?" Max asked. She noticed what he was staring at.

"That's just a heart monitor. Your heartbeat was a bit crazy there for a while. You were on IVs until earlier this morning. Mom said you don't need them anymore." Max explained.

"Where are we?" Fang asked, still staring at the heart monitor attached to his wrist, where the pulse was.

"My mom's house in Arizona. The rest of the Flock is in there, keeping themselves occupied. Iggy should be making lunch here soon. . . " She let her voice trail off at that.

"Can I take this thing off? I don't need it anymore." Fang didn't wait for an answer as he ripped the velcro off his wrist and let the heart monitor fall to the floor. If anyone had been keeping tabs on his heart read-out, they would find that it now said he was dead. A heart monitor can't monitor a heartbeat from the floor.

"I suppose so, since you already did." Max wondered if he was still under effects from the medicine. He was acting strange.

Fang slowly got up and walked into the tiny bathroom Valencia had back there. Max hadn't noticed it was there this morning when she had needed to use the facilities. While he took care of his. . . business. . . Max got up and went to the phone her mom had told her to use if she needed anything. She picked it up and instaneously heard a dial-tone.

"Yes?" Dr. Martinez asked from the other line.

"Uhm. . . Fang's up. He says he's hungry and he's already taken off his heart monitor thing. I was just letting you know." Max said as she heard a toilet flush. Fang walked back into the room, slowly, and gave her a puzzled look. He sat back on his bed.

"Okay. Iggy's making macaroni and tomato sauce for lunch. It should be ready in about 8 minutes. I'll have Nudge or someone else bring you and him some. I want him to stay in there until I can give him another check over."

"Alrighty. We'll be waiting, I guess." Max stretched the cord from the phone out so she could sit next to Fang.

"Okay." Val said, and then hung up. Max took the phone back to it's cradle and set it down.

"Who were you talking to?"

"My mom. That's a line that goes from in here to in there. I was just letting her know that you're up. She also said that Iggy's cooking lunch."

"What is Iggy cooking?" Fang asked as Max sat back down next to him. She brought her legs up and sat indian-style.

"Macaroni and tomato sauce, my mom said. It'll be ready in about 7 minutes." Max said, studying Fang. She was looking for signs indicating how he was, since he wasn't going to tell her. He was paler than normal, and he was moving very slowly and stiffly. But other than that, he seemed to be fine.

Fang nodded. "When will I be able to get out of this room?" He thought the small back room was a bit claustrophobic, and he was trying his best not to freak out even just sittin there. Max being there was helping things.

"Uhm. . . Mom said you need to stay in here until she checks you over again, but after that I'm sure we can go in there."

"Okay." Fang sat back on his pillows, trying to get comfortable. But when you have an ache in your side from a knife wound, you're not going to get very comfortable for a while.

"Lunch time!" Nudge called as she walked into the room, carrying a pot that had macaroni and tomato sauce in it on a tray. The tray also had some bowls and forks on it.

"Thanks, Nudge." Max said, getting up to get the tray from Nudge.

"Gaz is comin' in with somethin' for you to drink. I don't know what he's gonna bring, though." Nudge said. She automatically opened her mouth for some more ramblings, but Max gave her a look and she gave the idea a second thought. Her mouth closed.

"I got drinks!" The Gasman called as he came in, slightly off balance, with two cups and a gallon of green kool-aid. "It was either this or milk that looked funny." He explained. He set the jug of kool-aid down and handed Max and Fang each a cup.

"Fang! Are you okay?" Gazzy stopped and gave Fang a look of concern.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, are you okay? Everyone wants to know!! Angel said that she broke into your head and I thought that sounded painful but she said it was just with her telephatic mind powers. OH EM GEE wouldn't it just be _so_ awesome to be able to read minds? I mean, I wouldn't want to be able to control people like—" Max cut Nudge off by slapping a hand over her mouth.

Fang was just staring at her. His face was emotionless like always, but his eyes betrayed his amusement. "I'm fine. Thanks for askin'." He said shortly.

"EW! NUDGE, WHY'D YOU LICK ME?!" Max immediately removed her hand from Nudge's mouth and wipped it on her jeans.

"Cause you had your hand on my mouth. And okay, Fang, we were just makin' sure. We're gonna go eat now." Nudge said, grabbed Gazzy's arm and pulled him out of the room.

"I guess we should do the same." Fang said, setting his cup down in exchange for a bowl. He reached for the pot, but moved the wrong way. He froze and closed his eyes, his face getting even more pale than it had been.

"Yeah, but maybe I should get the food." Max said, moving his hand out of the way carefully. She grabbed the pot and her bowl. She then divided the macaroni in half and dished it out. Fang had sat back, so she handed him his bowl, then leaned across him to pour the kool-aid.

"There, we're all set up." She said, taking a bite. Fang had already scarfed down about half of his. He just nodded.

And the two of them just ate in companionable silence after that, until they were finished. After that, Fang had to endure being checked over by Valencia. . .

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**Well. There it is. I'm not to happy with this chapter, but there's going to be another one. And I had thought I'd have more to say after the chapter, but I guess not. . . **

**Thanks for reading! Please review! It's not that hard to press the little green-ish looking button below this and type something. Like I said before, even if you just type a letter, it's **_**something.**_

**Oh! And thanks to **Bella** who reviewed and it was anonymous, so I couldn't reply. Glad you like it!**

**---Zenelia*Sky**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: At the bottom. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing recognizable. All that belongs to the fabulous James Patterson.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the Penks (from previous chapters), and the plot. If I find anyone copying my work without my permission, I will report them (and most likely chew them out). You have been warned.**

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After they ate, Max stacked their bowls and set them beside the pot on the tray. She did their cups the same way.

"What now?" Fang asked. He had gotten some of his color back after he ate, but he still was peaked. He sat back and leaned more on his good side.

"Maybe I should call my mom. . . ?" Max looked towards the phone on the wall. Almost like she was a psychic, the phone rang.

"I guess that answers my question." Fang said, the ghost of a smile on his face as he watched Max get up and answer the phone.

"Yeah?" Max asked.

"Are you two done with lunch?" Valencia's voice questioned through the phone.

"Yep. We just got done."

"Okay, then I'm going to come in there and get your things and then give Fang the check over. If I can clear him, then you two can come back in here with the rest of the Flock." The line disconnected as Val hung up.

"My mom's gonna come in here and get our stuff, then give you the check up. She said if you're cleared, then we can go back in there." Max told Fang as she sat back down on the side of his bed. It was much more comfortable there than in that chair she slept in.

"I've noticed something." Fang said, his voice still quiet.

"And what would that be?"

"You keep saying we can go back in there after _I'm_ checked over and cleared. You don't say anything about you getting checked." He said with his usual bluntness. "Does that mean you can go in there anytime you want?"

"Well, yeah. I could if I wanted too. But I wanted to stay in here with you." Max said, trying not to let things get awkward. She hated to talk about the mushy-gushy feelings thing. She did want to let her thoughts out, though.

"Oh. Thanks." Fang said with a simple smile. He also reached over to hold her hand. He knew that she didn't like the mushy-gushy stuff. She thought it was too girlie.

"No prob." She replied.

"Hello?" Valencia's voice drifted in through the now open door.

"Hey." Max said, looking over at her mom. Fang just inclined his head in greeting.

"You feeling any better?" The question was directed at Fang.

"Guess so." He said shortly.

"Well, let me just check the cut, then we'll do an x-ray and see how the inside is doing." Val walked over and moved the tray with the lunch stuff onto a table next to the phone.

"Get up." She said, motioning to Max, who complied.

"Now, take off your shirt. It'll make the exam easier." She said to Fang, who looked a little uncomfortable. However, he did what she asked.

Max, who stood at the foot of his bed now, rather than sitting, had to look away to stop herself from emitting a gasp. Even though he had a bandage on his side, he still had a very defined chest and stomach. She had known this, of course, but it still caught her off guard.

Fang saw Max's reaction and couldn't stop a smirk from gracing his features. He almost laughed, but kept it in. He looked down as Val gently pulled the bandage off of the cut. Now, it was just a pink scar, criss-crossing over the ones he had previously from his run in with Ari.

"Well, it looks fine from the surface. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's fine on the inside. Come on, we need to get an X-Ray." She said, removing the bandage completely. After all, there was no need for a bandage on a scar.

"What do you mean, an X-Ray?" Fang asked warily, his face emotionless.

"Fang, just do what she asks. We gotta make sure you're okay. Besides, X-Rays aren't as bad as they sound." Max said, surprising even herself. She can be consoling when she wanted to be.

Fang didn't want to have an X-Ray, but he had the feeling that Max was going to make him. So, uncharacteristically, instead of putting up a fight, he just went with the flow. He got up slowly, his side still aching even though it was just a scar. _Hmmm. That actually isn't a good sign._ He thought, grimacing. It took him longer than normal, much longer, but he eventually got up.

"Is your side hurting? You've gone awfully pale, and I'm sure it normally doesn't take you that long to get up." Val said, a crease forming between her eyebrows.

"It's fine." Fang said shortly, being the masochist he is.

"Suit yourself." She said. She walked through a door next to the phone table, indicating Fang should follow. Max decided that she would too so she walked through the door as well.

Inside this new room was the equipment for the X-Ray, but other than that, it was bare. "Okay, Fang, just lay down on that table right there and I'll cover the rest with the lead apron." Valencia called as she walked through to the closet adjacent to the equipment.

Fang cast a glance towards Max, his face actually betraying his emotion. He felt trapped, and was about to jump out of his skin. Max knew exactly what he was going through.

"It'll be okay. Just lay down, and the better you cooperate, the faster this will be done with." She said sympathetically, taking his hand and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He nodded and climbed onto the table.

Val came back with two bluish aprons in her arms, identical to the one she was now wearing. "Here, Max, you need to wear this and stand behind this wall if you want to stay in here while he gets the X-Ray done. And Fang, you need to cover yer upper body with this. Not the wound, or what was a wound, but the rest of your torso." She instructed and watched as they obeyed.

She walked behind the wall she had pointed out to Max, and got at the controls to the X-Ray machine. She had already positioned the mechanism above the target location on Fang, so all she had to do was activate it to get the image. She wasn't going to get a bone X-Ray, but one of the organs and the puncture. She activated it, and the room went dark for a few seconds, but then the light came back on.

"Okay, you can get up now." Val called to Fang from around the wall. He immediately jumped up, then winced and froze. He got over it quickly, though, right around when Max came over and grabbed his hand.

"Well, we'll have to wait an hour for the full results since this was a special case. If you want, you can go in the living room, but you can't leave the house. I'm only letting you two go in there because I know you hate being cooped up in that little hospital room." Val said, walking back into the main part of the house.

"Wanna go back in there?" Max asked Fang.

He just stared at the door for a second, and then said, "Yeah, but I want to put my shirt back on first."

"Okay."

And with that, the pair walked into the main part of the house with the rest of the Flock for the first time since the fight.

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**A/N: How'd ya'll enjoy that? I thought it was good. There'll be another chapter up soon. That one will be the last, most likely. Thank you for reading! Please review! It makes me write faster :]**

**-Zenelia*Sky**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello everyone! Anyone happy to see me? *cricket cricket*. Well, I suppose I have been gone for quite some time. But I can't help it! Stuff gets in the way. Anywho. . . I'm back, and I'm updating. This story at least. R&R~!

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"So, where is everyone?" Fang asked, as he and Max walked into the deserted living room. It turned out that the rest of the Flock wasn't in there.

"I'm not sure. . . It's rather strange. My mom said they were in here." Max said, looking around the corner into the kitchen. She was almost positive at least Iggy would be in there.

"Guess she was wrong." Fang said, walking over to the couch. He needed to sit down. Since they were still holding hands, Max followed him.

"Yeah. I want to know where they are though." Max said, contemplating getting up and going to find them.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure they're fine. You've taught them how to take care of themselves." Fang said, reaching over to grab the remote, then regretting it. He paused, closed his eyes, and then took a long, shallow breath. He got over it rather quickly, then proceeded to turn the TV on.

"What was that?" Max asked, for she had seen him in the moment of discomfort. "Is your side still bothering you? It shouldn't be." She finished, her tone half scalding, half concerned.

"It was nothing. And it's not really bothering me, it's just sore. Like I said earlier." Fang said, his tone curt. He didn't want to draw attention to himself for being hurt.

"Stop being such a masochist. I know it's bothering you, I can tell. Now why don't we go tell my mom? She'll know what to do to make it stop." Max stood up, dead set on getting Fang to stop taking the brunt of his pain without getting some treatment of sorts.

"Max, its fine. Will you stop?" Fang's voice was teetering on the edge of anger. He had grabbed Max's hand to stop her from going somewhere. He tried to pull her back down on the couch, but she resisted.

"No, I won't stop. I refuse. Now where'd my Mom go . . .? And where's the Flock? Ugh!" Max said, breaking free of Fang's grip and walked around the couch and headed down the hall.

Fang just let his head droop, and rolled his eyes. _She's the greatest, she really is, but she gets on my ever last nerve!_ He thought as he debated getting up and following her. He twisted around, and took a sharp breath. _Nope. I think I'll be staying here._ He decided, leaning back. Thinking on it, he probably could safely assume that there was indeed something wrong with him, since the "scar" was still bothering him, but he was too stubborn to admit it. Besides, why would he give Max and her mom the satisfaction of knowing they were right and he was wrong? He wasn't about to let that happen. _And it's not like it's deadly or anything. I hope. _He added, his brow furrowing.

"Fang!" Max called from down the hall. She still couldn't find anyone.

"What?" He called back, just loud enough for her to hear.

"There's no one else in this house! It's just us. I want to know at least where the Flock is!" Max said, coming back into the living room, and standing in front of the hall way.

_She reminds me of a Mother Hen who's lost her chicks. _Fang thought. "I'm sure they're fine, Max. They know not to get into trouble."

"But what if Penks came and got them? They could've gotten my mom and Ella, too!" Max worried aloud. She knew that if it was anyone other than Fang, she wouldn't be saying this. She would be fuming silently.

Fang stayed quiet for a minute. He supposed that could be a likely possibility. But wouldn't they have searched for Max and Fang, too? As the oldest, they seem to be the most desirable to the Penks. The back room they were in wouldn't have been that hard to find. He voiced this reasoning to Max.

"Well. I guess that makes sense. But! It still could've happened." She said, coming over to sit by him again.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure they'll turn up soon, and if they don't, then you can go into freak out mode." He said, taking her hand and rubbing his thumb on the back of it in reassuring circles.

". . . Fine. I'll go along with your little plan. But it's been almost a half hour since you got that X-ray. Shouldn't it be done by now? Or did she say an hour. . ." Max said, trying to remember.

"She said between a half hour and an hour." Fang said, flipping through the channels. What he was watching before had gone off.

"Okay." Max said, leaning into Fang's good side as he was searching for something to watch. He put his arm around her, keeping a hold of her hand.

"Max? Fang?" Valencia called from the back room. Fang's X-ray had developed, and it worried her.

"Mom, is that you? Where are you?" Max called, twisting around to look at the door that led to the back room, where she heard the voice.

"I'm in the X-ray room. Come back here, and bring Fang!" She called.

"Okay!" Max called back, getting up. She turned to Fang, who was slowly making his way up. "I don't think you're okay. But c'mon." Max said, taking his hand.

"I'm fine. Well . . . if I'm not, we're about to find out at any rate." Fang said, his face paling.

They walked into the X-ray room through the hall and then through the hospital room they had been in before. In there, they found Valencia sitting at a computer, with a copy of the black and gray X-ray, and then one on the screen. She seemed to be comparing them.

"There you two are. I need to talk to you." Valencia said, looking up.

"First, I have a question," Max interrupted, "where's the Flock?"

"They went with Ella to see some of the local attractions. Don't worry, the CSM are watching them." Valencia answered, understanding Max's concern. "Now, I need to talk."

"Then go ahead." Max said, confused and not liking where this was going.

"These X-rays are funny. They don't look right." The doctor looked again from the hardcopy X-ray to the screen. She seemed as confused as Max and Fang were.

"Not right how?" Fang asked, his tone flat. When Max looked at him, she saw that his face was emotionless. He was trying not to let this get to him.

"Well. From the outside, you're absolutely fine. But on the inside. . ." Valencia trailed off, leaving both Max and Fang impatient.

"On the inside what?" Max asked, point blank.

"It seems the outside of the wound healed much faster than the inside did. It's very odd. Your regenerative processes aren't supposed to malfunction like that." Dr. Martinez said, shaking her head.

Both Max and Fang both picked out the one key word. "Malfunction?" They both said at the same time. "What does that mean?" Max added.

"Well. You're both mutations, you know that. I mean, you have wings and can actually fly. So some of the human processes were tweaked a bit to fit the mutation. Apparently, Fang's healing ability has been messed up, since he healed just fine on the surface, but it appears he didn't on the inside."

"I'm not going to have to have surgery, am I?" Fang asked, his face slightly paler than it was before, but just as emotionless.

"Not unless something goes wrong, or it doesn't heal. I'll keep a track of it for a few days, and see what happens. I'm going to bandage you up, just to make sure you can twist the wrong way and damage any of your organs, and then I'm going to put Max in charge of making sure you don't over-exert yourself." Valencia stood up, and walked back into the hospital room.

"So I didn't get stabbed in an organ from the beginning?" Fang asked, to no one in particular, but Valencia took it upon herself to explain further.

"No, it seemed the blade went right through the microscopic gap you have between your kidney and your stomach. It did hit an air sac it seems, so if you have trouble breathing, don't be surprised. Since you have two functioning lungs and multiple other air sacs, you should be fine though." Valencia said. "Now get over here so I can bandage you up. Take off your shirt, too."

Fang walked slowly over to the bed, and slowly pulled off his shirt. He only slightly winced when his side stretched. He watched as Dr. Martinez wrapped a gauze bandage around his abdomen rather tightly. He didn't like the feel of it, but he knew that with that on, he wouldn't move the wrong way to hurt himself.

"There, done." Valencia said, after she finished wrapping two pieces of bandage tape around to hold it in place.

"You can go in there, and even sleep in your own room. Just be careful. Now, Max!" Valencia turned around to face Max, who had watched the whole bandaging occurrence from the foot of the bed.

"Yes?" She asked.

"It is your job to make sure Fang doesn't do anything to hurt himself. Just watch over him like you normally would. Only you have a reason to this time." Dr. Martinez smiled at her daughter.

"Oh, don't worry. I will." Max looked Fang dead in the eye who rolled his eyes.

_She's going to have way too much fun with that._ He thought, already dreading what she was going to do to him. He put on his shirt, and found that with the bandages on, he could stand up easier.

"Let's go." Max said, taking Fang's hand and pulling him back into the living room.

"I hope everything is okay." Valencia said to herself, still thinking it was rather strange that he hadn't healed properly.

* * *

A/N: Well. There ya go! There's going to be at least one more chapter, maybe a couple more. I'm not sure yet. I just have to write it out. Not much else to say. . . R&R~! I hope you guys don't hate me for being gone so long . . .

- Zenelia*Sky


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